While model portfolios, of course, help pare down some of the labor inherent to the analysis of all investment positions, some advisors, nevertheless, outsource some – or all – of the investment management responsibilities by tapping third part model portfolios, according to flexshares.com.

Unlike funds, among other traditional investment vehicles, external solutions like third party portfolios provide financial advisors leeway over a gambit of aspects of managing a portfolio. They include  underlying holdings, asset allocation, rebalancing frequency, and trading.

“Advisors are typically seeking a holistic, cost-efficient, outcome-oriented solution from a trusted brand. Our models seek to provide a robust framework to navigate global markets and offer a straightforward means to help advisors build scale, enhance client service and satisfy regulatory expectations,” according to Melinda Mecca, director of Investment Solutions, Northern Trust Asset Management.

Also referred to by some RIA in the industry as the separately managed account, they’re used by investment advisors for accounts with higher AUM or asset under management, according to  synertree.io.

Now, trade and asset allocation decisions are beyond the wheelhouse of an RIA, but should have the chops to know the product without in extensive insight into each security within the model portfolio, the site continued.

The rumble for a trend called direct indexing seems to be accelerating, as a burgeoning number of investors are displaying a demand for specialized portfolios, according to markettradingessentials.com.

The upshot: eschewing ownership of a mutual or exchange traded fund, direct indexing’s flashing the wallet on stocks of an index, the site continued. The idea’s to hit to hit paydirt on, for example, tax efficiency, diversification or values-based investing.

“It says a lot that these large fund providers are leaning into direct indexing,” said Adam Grealish, head of investments at Altruist, an advisor platform with a direct indexing product.

So, in light of the ascension of direct indexing, investors might be asking, pre tell, how to build a portfolio in which this strategy’s incorporated, according to corporate.vanguard.com.

Well, presto, investors can cull ways to meet that goal through a framework available in Personalized indexing: A portfolio construction plan, a Vanguard research paper recently published. 

“Our research represents a sensible starting point for potential direct indexing investors who want to include this strategy in their portfolios,” said Vanguard senior investment strategist Kevin Khang, Ph.D., one of the paper’s authors.

Made up of a diversified group of assets built to generate an expected return, model portfolios also come with risk, according to smartasset.com.

With your financial goals squarely in the cross hairs, a host of portfolios typically are offered by financial advisors or investment managers. With these portfolios, investors can leverage simple and effective investment methods under minimal management, the site continued. 

Certainly, it seems, the popularity of model portfolios is hardly lukewarm. Within the landscape of the financial product distribution landscape, among advisors, their burgeoning use carries formidable power, according to brainbridge.com.

These portfolios, over time, are automatically rebalanced based on evolving market conditions or client needs. According to MMI, these models always have been a linchpin of the $6.5 trillion advisory solutions industry. Most prominently, they’ve played a big role in packaged mutual fund advisory programs, the site stated. That’s where discretionary investment management is outsourced by an advisor to an internal investment committee/research team at a distributor.

Creating the portfolio evolves around a plethora of decisions, according to forbes.com.

Through diversification, a model portfolio positions you to hedge your risks.  

In an ideal world, the brains behind the portfolios are financial advisors. Their role’s to oversee the portfolios daily, allowing you, the customer, to be hands off.